Dearth of jobs in the UK is compelling a number of Oxford University passouts to work as bar tenders, waitresses and waiters, according to the figures released by the prestigious university.

Dearth of jobs in the UK is compelling a number of Oxford University passouts to work as bar tenders, waitresses and waiters, a survey has revealed.

Of the 3,500 passouts who supplied information, nearly 200 have been working in non-graduate occupations such as office clerk, sales assistant or bar employee, according to the figures released by the prestigious university.

The statistics have revealed a snapshot of the desperate employment market in Britain and shows that while many secure jobs as doctors, bankers or management consultants, others are struggling to get their foot on the career ladder, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Among the most popular positions for undergraduates six months after leaving Oxford were doctors and finance analysts, registrars and consultants, researchers, teachers, management consultants and advertising and marketing executives.

But, a fifth of graduates, who studied classical archaeology and ancient history, said they were unemployed six months after leaving university.

Classics and modern languages and Oriental Studies had rates of about 15%. Colleges with highest unemployment rates included Mansfield, at over 10% and Pembroke at 9%.

Jonathan Black, director of the university career service, said: "We are insulated from the worst effects of the recession because employers see Oxford as a quick filter but that does not mean that all our students walk in to jobs.

"But an Oxford education is for life and what an individual might be doing six months after graduating is unlikely to be what they are doing in 10 years time.

"We have more and more employers coming here. There is a flight to talent. But we still have a lot of worried students that it is our job to help."